US Grand Prix gets thumbs up

Paris - The US Grand Prix has been included on the 2012 Formula One calendar, despite fears it could be cut for financial reasons.

The governing body of the sport said on Wednesday on its website that the 2012 "calendar was confirmed as previously published".

The unchanged F1 calendar was approved at a World Motor Sport Council meeting in New Delhi, India.

The FIA's ratification of the 20 races also means that the Bahrain Grand Prix is scheduled as the fourth race of the season on April 22.

The 2011 race in Bahrain was supposed to be the season opener in March but was called off amid violent anti-government protests. FIA wanted to reschedule the race for later this year but that proved impossible.

Last week, F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone gave US GP organisers an extra week to save the Texas race by proving they have the right finances in place.

Financial backers of the race in Austin, Texas, include billionaire businessman Red McCombs. The race is scheduled for November 18 and marks F1's return to the United States for the first time since 2007.

The Circuit of the Americas officials had pledged to pay F1's sanctioning fee but a dispute over signing a final contract and the long-term financing had not yet been resolved, prompting Ecclestone to extend the deadline.

The initial dispute was caused by F1's decision to scrap a previous contract it had with Tavo Hellmund, a former race driver with long family ties to Ecclestone who was originally granted the right to stage the US Grand Prix.

The deal with Hellmund was recently cancelled over a contract breach, and F1 officials instead began negotiating with Circuit of the Americas.

F1's presence in the US will increase even more in 2013. A 10-year deal will put the race along the Hudson River waterfront in New Jersey, providing views of the Manhattan skyline.

Vettel will start his bid for a third straight F1 title at the Australian Grand Prix in March. The season again ends in Brazil.

Although Vettel ended up dominating this year, the races were the most exciting in many years. There were intriguing duels between Vettel and McLaren drivers Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button in China, Canada and Germany as Vettel showed signs he could be beaten early in the season before reasserting his supremacy in winning the Belgian GP.

The majority of drivers were pleased with rule changes in 2011 that made racing even more exciting, with a greater emphasis put on overtaking and the new Pirelli tires also favouring attacking drivers.

FIA plans to streamline races even further next season.

There will be a maximum race time of four hours to ensure that a lengthy suspension of a race does not result in it lasting up to eight hours. Before the safety car returns to the pits all lapped cars will be allowed to return to the back of the pack, ensuring a clean restart without slower cars holding up those in contention.

Also, a driver can use all his allocated tires on the first day's practice, whereas previously only three sets were allowed, and for the first time there will be a three-day test carried out during the season, although FIA did not say when.